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Westdene Teaching School Alliance programme

Westdene Primary School, with investment from Artswork, the South East Bridge Organisation, worked with Culture Shift and Photoworks to bring together artists, cultural organisations and schools within the Teaching Schools Alliance.

Schools, arts and cultural professionals participated in joint training opportunities and collaborated to share their expertise and resources, undertaking small scale action research activity in school and cultural venues.

The programme:

Promoted best practice around arts and cultural learning

Investigated how quality arts and cultural learning can ‘close the attainment gap’ for disadvantaged pupils

Explored how cultural resources can support the new primary curriculum

Developed aspirations and awareness of jobs in the creative and cultural industries

Built capacity for schools to deliver Arts Award and work towards Artsmark

Extended the profile of arts among school leadership

The project ran until Spring 2015, and included schools from across Brighton and Hove working with the following cultural organisations:

Find out more about the different strands of programme activity and their outcomes here.

Photoworks promotes engagement with photography and new thinking on its place within contemporary culture. It does this by commissioning and publishing new work and writing on photography and by producing exhibitions, books, participation and learning projects and events including the Brighton Photo Biennial. Based in Brighton, but international in ambition, collaboration is at its core. Photoworks is a registered charity and a National Portfolio Organisation, funded by Arts Council England.

Westdene Primary School is a large three form entry primary school on the northern outskirts of Brighton. As a Teaching School it aims to work in partnership with colleagues across the city and beyond to improve outcomes for children.